Fly Fishing the Nantahala River

Today, I met my clients near Robbinsville, NC and we made a short drive up to the Nantahala Delayed Harvest. Scott and Michael had never fished the Nantahala before today and they are already talking about coming back. Scott had the best day with more than 20 fish brought to the net including some really nice rainbows and brook trout. Michael may not have brought as many to the net but he did get the Nantahala grand slam (rainbow, brook and brown). I talked Scott into trying a Czech Nymphing setup and he quickly found out just how productive it can be. He and Michael both had just fished a run and failed to pull out any fish. With the first cast of the Czech Nymph rig he was hooked into a nice 14-15 inch bow. He fished a Tungsten #12 Flashabou Prince Nymph with a #8 Hot Head Marvin and a #16 Just Add Water on an 15-16′ leader. Most of the fish came on the Prince Nymph while several fish came on the Hot Head Marvin.

Scott showing off a decent bow on the Nantahala

Around midday we started seeing mayflies and caddis flies hatching and several fish rising to them. We switched our rigs over to a Dry Fly Dropper and pulled in even more fish on dries. Once they switched over to the dry fly dropper, Scott and Michael picked up several nice wild rainbows and a few more brook trout.

Today, I was constantly reminded of why I chose guiding as my profession. The scenic surroundings, the abundance of hungry trout and great company made for a fantastic day on the water.

If you are interested in fishing this fine river give us a call or email. We guide this stream and many others all over Western North Carolina. Let our patient experienced guides take you on your next fly fishing adventure.